The URC quarterfinals are locked and loaded after the conclusion of league play this weekend, while Northampton Saints and Bath will jostle for Gallagher Premiership honours at Twickenham after two thrilling semi-finals.
URC R18: Lions fall agonisingly short of quarterfinal place
In the final round of URC round robin action this season, the Lions’ narrow 24-29 defeat to the Stormers in Cape Town meant they just miss out on a place in the knockouts. Ivan van Rooyen’s men completed their campaign in ninth, level on points with eighth-placed Ospreys, albeit crucially having won a game less.
The Swansea-based club’s 33-29 victory at Cardiff meant they claimed the Welsh Shield and did just enough to secure a ticket to the post-season, although Champions Cup qualification remained out of reach after the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ Challenge Cup title triumph the week before.
John Plumtree’s men ended their URC campaign in 14th after a 26-14 Durban defeat to the Bulls, who claimed SA Shield honours and will face Benetton at Loftus in their quarterfinal after finishing second. Top spot went to Munster, who saw off the challenge of Ulster 29-24 in Limerick and will host Ospreys this week, with the Northern Irish outfit travelling to Irish Shield winners Leinster.
The Champions Cup runners-up blew Connacht away 33-7 in Dublin, while fourth-placed Glasgow Warriors, who will tackle the Stormers at the Scotstoun in the last eight, held off Zebre 38-26. Elsewhere, Scarlets beat Dragons 32-15 in Llanelli and Benetton knocked out Edinburgh 31-6 in Treviso.
😤 Access Denied 😤
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) June 1, 2024
Ankle Tap. ✅ Try-Saving Tackle. ✅ Sacha Mngomezulu take a bow 👏#BKTURC #URC | #RaceForTheEight | #STOvLIO pic.twitter.com/Qw5Nxo1kn5
Gallagher Premiership Semi-finals: Saints and Bath go through to season finale
Northampton Saints beat Saracens 22-20 at Franklin’s Gardens in the weekend’s first semi-final to book their place in a first final since 2014, the year they last won the title. The table-toppers were made to work hard by a Sarries outfit that refused to go away, but they ultimately got the job done to set up an almighty decider with Bath.
The result means the end for all-time Saracens greats Owen Farrell, the Vunipola brothers and Sean Maitland with more potentially set to move on in the off-season.
On Saturday, Bath did enough to knock last year’s runners-up Sale Sharks out of the competition in a well-deserved 31-23 win at The Rec. The Blue, Black and Whites, who finished second despite earning the same number of points (60) as Saints, will now have another crack at securing a first title since the game went pro.
The moment The Rec erupted!
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) June 2, 2024
Niall Annett grabbed a late try to seal @BathRugby's place in the #GallagherPremFinal 💪#GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/aydfMSg8MZ
